NUSolve Innovation Assistant/Associate in Data Science’

Salary:

Research Assistant: £31,396 to £32,982 per annum

Research Associate: £33,966 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 14 May 2024

The Role

Newcastle University Solve (NU Solve) in the School of Mathematics, Statistics & Physics (MSP) has a track record of applying world-class academic expertise to businesses, industry, and wider society. From bespoke training and research to funded placements and consultancy, NU Solve works with businesses in the fields of mathematics, statistics, data science and physics to make real impact outside of academia.

NU Solve has a new and exciting role for an associate in data science to work on a diverse range of business projects with key industry, business, and government partners. The role will expand the capacity of NU Solve to develop closer partnerships with businesses, cultural industries, and external agencies, and to broaden the scope of activity for the School of MSP in the area of data science, machine learning, statistics and generative AI. This will help to strengthen and expand our School business, innovation and skills activities.

Working with School and Faculty facilitators in the University’s core strategic areas of Commercial Engagement, Education for Life and Research for Impact & Discovery, and School academics, the role will provide a flexible resource, delivering commercial consulting, skills and continuing professional development (CPD) training and commercial research. The role will help enable timely grant applications, such as for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) and Industrial PhDs. 

The role is at Research Assistant / Associate level, based within NU Solve in the School of Mathematics, Statistics & Physics. 

You will work on commercial consultancy, skills and CPD, commercial research and student projects, working with and under direct academic and NU Solve manager supervision. 

This is a fixed term position, available immediately and tenable for 24 months initially, with the view to extend. We would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible and/or blended working. The successful application should have flexibility to travel as required, including overnight stays.

For all informal enquiries, please contact Matt Linsley ([email protected]) or Kevin Wilson ([email protected])

To apply, please complete the online application and attach a CV and covering letter. In your covering letter, please outline how you are either working towards, meet or exceed all the essential requirements for the role holder as outlined below, and highlight any expertise relevant to the described project.

For more information about NU Solve and our work, please click here

For more information about the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, please click here 

Key Accountabilities

•    Work on a diverse range of external data science projects with industry, business & government partners

•    Deliver consulting, skills and continuing professional development (CPD) training and applied research projects

•    Through data-driven projects, help develop closer partnerships with businesses, industry and external agencies, broadening the scope of activity for the School of MSP in the areas of data science, machine learning, statistics and generative AI

•    Work with School and Faculty facilitators in the University’s core strategic areas of Commercial Engagement, Education for Life and Research for Impact & Discovery, and School academics

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 
•    Broad knowledge of data science and statistics
•    Expertise in machine learning methods
•    Skills in statistical programming languages including R and Python
•    Experience of, or exposure to, applying statistics or data science to industrial/business problems
•    Appropriate experience in writing research publications
•    Ability to handle a diverse portfolio of work, across a range of project types 
•    Ability to analyse large and complex datasets
•    Availability and flexibility to travel, including overnight stays when required
Desirable
•    Broad knowledge of mathematics
•    Additional software skills such as Shiny, LaTeX, Tidyverse, Tableau, C/C++, Java
•    Experience of delivering oral presentations
•    Experience in report writing for projects underpinned by statistics and/or data science 
•    Experience in Deep Learning through frameworks such as PyTorch, Keras or Tensorflow

Attributes and Behaviour
•    Demonstrable commitment to the values of equality and diversity in your work
•    A positive attitude and ability to act as a role model to students and colleagues
•    Excellent oral and written communicator; ability to communicate with a variety of individuals at different levels within an organisation
•    Proficient time management skills
•    Attention to detail.
•    An ability to work independently under supervision, make decisions within the remit of the role and take responsibility for the outcomes

.

Qualifications
•    PhD in statistics (essential for Associate role), statistical data science, machine learning or a closely related discipline

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26968